Vallejo Model Color Review

Vallejo Model Color is worth trying if you mostly paint with a brush and want matte colors that dry with little shine for figures, uniforms, vehicles, or scenery. The reformulated range offers a useful mix of muted shades and brighter colors, with encouraging improvements in brush handling. I’d start with individual bottles for your next model rather than replace your whole paint collection.

Its biggest drawback depends on what you need. For brush painters replacing an old favorite, the new bottle may not match perfectly. For airbrush painters, Model Air offers a more convenient starting point. Metallics also deserve a separate decision from the ordinary colors.

This review focuses on the Model Color reformulation introduced in 2024, sold in 18 ml bottles, with older paint identified separately.

Check which Model Color formula you have

The newer Model Color comes in clear 18 ml dropper bottles with updated branding and a white ring beneath the cap. Older bottles typically hold 17 ml and use the previous label design. Check those details together: a retailer’s typed bottle size alone doesn’t establish which paint will arrive.

That matters because a familiar product number can span both generations. A listing for White 70.951, for example, tells you the shade reference, but the code alone doesn’t identify the formula. If a shop’s description and photograph disagree, ask which bottle it supplies before ordering paint for a project where the shade needs to match.

The change affects more than packaging. Reported brush comparisons found the newer ordinary acrylics thinner and less prone to separation than their predecessors. Don’t automatically add the amount of water you used with an older bottle. Dispense a little, mix it, and check how it comes off your brush first.

You don’t need to throw away older paint that still mixes and works well. Keep its identity in your painting notes, especially if you’re halfway through an army. Photograph the label and paint a sample before the bottle runs out. That gives you something more useful to match than your memory of a color.

How Model Color handles on a brush

Model Color makes the most sense when you want to place color carefully: a face, a jacket, a belt, or a vehicle’s tools. Its generally matte finish also suits cloth and weathered surfaces; Gloss Black 70.861 is a clearly named exception. Most shades will need a gloss finish added if you want a polished car body.

In reported new-formula comparisons, coverage held up despite the thinner consistency, and many brighter shades improved. Longer working time also made blending easier. Those findings support trying it for gradual transitions between light and dark, but they don’t promise that every color will cover black primer in two coats.

Judge the mix by what happens on the model. Paint should leave a controlled stroke without piling up into ridges or flooding nearby details. Add water gradually on the palette; don’t thin the whole bottle to suit one task. For more thinning, Vallejo offers Thinner Medium 70.524, intended to preserve the paint’s adhesion and resistance.

On a larger brushed area, work in thin coats and stop brushing once a layer starts to set. Repeatedly dragging the brush through partly dried paint can make an otherwise even coat look rough. If the primer still shows through, let the coat dry and add another. More paint on the brush isn’t always the answer to patchiness.

White 70.951 needs its own expectations. Praise for the older white doesn’t establish the new version’s coverage or texture. If you’re painting white armor, I’d start over a light undercoat and build coverage gradually, rather than expect white to hide a dark surface immediately. For shaded white clothing, consider Off-White 70.820 or Ivory 70.918 for the main area and reserve pure white for the brightest parts. Buy one bottle before committing to a large white project.

A wet palette adds another variable. If Model Color becomes too runny, compare a fresh drop on a dry palette with one on your wet palette before changing brands. Check the paper or membrane type, its orientation, the water level, and whether water is pooling on top.

For Redgrass reusable membranes, the blank side faces up and the printed side faces the foam. Keep the water below the foam’s top surface. Its instructions call for soaking and squeezing a completely dry, stiff foam pad, then adding water again in the tray. They don’t prescribe squeezing out almost all the water before every session. Other palette papers may need different preparation.

Mix paint thoroughly, but avoid whipping it into foam. A reported demonstration produced bubbles that dried into marks after unusually hard, prolonged shaking and vigorous stirring with water. If your palette paint is visibly bubbly, let the bubbles settle before painting.

What to expect from Model Color metallics

The 2024 metallics improved, but I wouldn’t buy the range solely for its golds. Reported comparisons found finer texture, easier application, and a modest coverage improvement over the old metallics. Some still separated, so the ordinary acrylics’ improved consistency doesn’t mean every metallic needs equally little mixing.

Gold 70.996 and Old Gold 70.878 are separate Model Color choices. Don’t confuse them with similarly named Liquid Metal paints, which use an alcohol-based formula and different thinning and cleaning instructions.

Choose your gold by the look you want, then check coverage. A subdued metal tone can suit worn equipment yet disappoint if you want bright, yellow gold armor. The reformulated golds have been described as more muted, but that doesn’t tell you how many coats Gold or Old Gold will need.

Test the chosen gold over the same primer or base color you’ll use on the miniature. Check both how much underlying color shows through and whether the dried surface looks smooth. Those are separate qualities; a pleasing metallic sheen doesn’t guarantee strong coverage. If metallics dominate the model, try that bottle before buying a broader Model Color set just to get it.

Drying and protecting your Model Color paintwork

Model Color can feel dry well before it reaches its best resistance to handling. Surface drying lets you continue painting; curing is the longer process of the paint film developing its strength. Coat thickness, the surface underneath, temperature, and humidity affect the wait.

Vallejo describes the current formula as quick drying but doesn’t give a universal recoat or masking time in its Model Color flyer. An older manufacturer FAQ mentions 48 hours or more for optimum resistance. That predates the reformulation, so it shouldn’t become a guaranteed curing schedule for your new bottles.

For recoating, let the previous thin layer dry and avoid scrubbing it with the next application. Hold the model by its base or a painting handle while you work. Before masking, try your intended tape or liquid mask on a spare piece painted and dried alongside the model. If removal lifts paint, give the finish more time and reassess the preparation.

Start with clean plastic or resin and a primer suitable for that material. Wash away grease, residue from molding, and dust as the model maker directs, then let the surface dry. Resin prints need washing, drying, and any final curing required by the resin maker before painting. Let the primer dry according to its own instructions too.

For pieces you’ll handle regularly, use a compatible protective varnish once the paint has dried thoroughly. Test the varnish on your sample first, especially over metallics, because the final sheen is part of the result. Choose matte, satin, or gloss for the surface you want. A clear coat adds protection; it doesn’t correct poor adhesion underneath.

Using Model Color in an airbrush

You can airbrush Model Color, but expect to prepare and adjust it. If you mainly spray large areas and are buying paint from scratch, I’d choose Model Air for that work. Vallejo formulates it for airbrush application, while Model Color earns its place through brush work and useful shades.

For Model Color, Vallejo specifies Airbrush Thinner 71.261 and identifies Airbrush Flow Improver 71.262 as an aid that delays drying in the airbrush. Use the product directions as your starting point, then adjust for the particular color, nozzle, pressure, and room conditions. One dilution ratio won’t cover every setup.

Test the spray on a spare surface before approaching the model. You want an even coat without sputtering or wet paint spreading away from where you aim. Change one setting at a time so you can tell what helped. If the spray starts to falter, check for dried paint at the needle rather than continually adding thinner. Vallejo lists Airbrush Cleaner 71.199 for cleanup; follow your airbrush’s maintenance instructions as well.

Check the bottle’s spraying precautions, especially with older paint. Water-based paint still creates airborne droplets when sprayed. Use appropriate ventilation and spray extraction, and follow the paint and equipment instructions for respiratory protection.

Choosing and matching Model Color shades

The official Model Color chart, identified as CC329, is the useful starting point. Its 220 references include 192 ordinary colors, 10 metallics, two transparent colors, and 16 auxiliary products. That’s not 220 opaque paint shades. The PDF also includes suggested color combinations and selected Model Air and military-color equivalents.

Vallejo calls its arrangement BSL: Base, Shade, Light. It groups colors that can work as a main tone, a darker shadow, and a lighter highlight. Use those combinations if choosing related colors feels difficult. You can also mix intermediate shades instead of buying every step.

Names and numbers need care when replacing old paint. The current chart includes additions such as Light Pink 70.748 and Infantry Blue 70.752, while the old glaze colors are no longer part of the range. Woodgrain 70.828 is now Mahogany Ink; Smoke 70.939 is Smoke Ink. Glaze Medium is an additive, not a replacement bottle of a discontinued colored glaze.

Even retained colors can shift. Reported side-by-side comparisons found new Violet Red slightly redder, Park Green Flat yellower, and Dark Grey bluer. For a touch-up, compare dried samples over the same undercoat and under the same light. A shared reference number is helpful, but it isn’t a guarantee of an invisible repair.

Treat printed and screen swatches as guides. The chart itself warns that printing can change the colors you see. Its equivalence section is also selective, not a complete conversion to every Citadel or Game Color paint.

For historical models, use the relevant military color code and references for your subject rather than relying on a suggestive name. Paint a sample with your intended washes and varnish too: weathering and the final finish affect the color you’re trying to achieve.

Does Model Color fit the way you paint?

If you’re starting with a brush, Model Color is a sensible range to learn with. You can pick shades for one miniature, control the amount you dispense, and mix lighter or darker versions on the palette. The main learning task is adjusting consistency for the job. Don’t judge your ability—or the entire range—by one difficult pale color.

For military figures, equipment, earthy scenery, and muted clothing, its palette gives you plenty to choose from. For brighter fantasy schemes, look at Game Color alongside it. The current Game Color formula also has a matte finish, so the old shorthand that Game Color is satin and Model Color is matte no longer makes a dependable buying rule. Choose the shades you need rather than assuming the two ranges contain identical paint.

You can combine Model Color and Game Color in a collection and mix their water-based acrylic colors. Vallejo also permits mixing its acrylics with other water-based acrylic brands. Try a small mixture first because the resulting consistency and sheen matter. That compatibility advice doesn’t include alcohol-based Liquid Metal or solvent-based paints merely labeled “acrylic.”

Against Citadel, I’d choose by workflow. Model Color’s droppers are convenient when you dispense small quantities and record mixtures. Citadel remains convenient when a painting guide names its exact colors and you want to follow that recipe without finding substitutes. There isn’t a sound basis for declaring every Model Color shade better covering or tougher than its Citadel counterpart. Keep paints that already do the job well and fill specific gaps.

For a first set, Basic Colors USA 70.140 is worth considering if you need a broad starting palette. The current version contains sixteen 18 ml Model Color bottles. It includes white and black, a flesh tone, yellow, orange, red, purple, two blues, two greens, earthy colors, silver, and gold. That gives you a useful spread for learning and mixing. It contains no primer, varnish, or dedicated wash, so account for those separately if your project needs them.

Buy individual colors instead if you already own the basics or need a particular camouflage scheme. A set with several unused shades isn’t automatically good value, and a large case is a substantial commitment before you know whether you like the paint.

My recommendation is to try the current Model Color in the main color of your next model, plus the supporting shades you’re missing. If you like its control and matte finish, expand from there. If most of your work goes through an airbrush, start with Model Air and use Model Color where a particular brush color earns its place.